1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an electronic system and a process for controlling a television set to present programs selected in advance from a schedule by a user. More particularly, it relates to such an electronic system and process which allows the user to make the broadcast program selection using selection criteria that can be combined in different ways. Most especially, the invention relates to such an electronic system and process which receives the schedule information in broadcast form and then processes the schedule information to make the selections. The invention further relates to a system that will enable a user to program a video cassette recorder (VCR) for unattended operation by making a simple selection from a menu.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A variety of electronic systems which can be connected to a conventional television receiver to increase the functionality of the receiver are known in the art. For example, systems that will allow a user to select teletext messages broadcast as auxilliary information in otherwise unused portions of conventional television broadcasts are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,186,413, issued Jan. 29, 1980 to Mortimer; U.S. Pat. No. 4,288,809, issued Sept. 8, 1981 to Yabe, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,361,848, issued Nov. 30, 1982 to Poignet et al. A variety of other electronic systems for controlling television sets or other related applications are disclosed in the following additional issued patents: U.S. Pat. No. 4,205,343, issued May 27, 1980 to Barrett; U.S. Pat. No. 4,225,967, issued Sept. 30, 1980 to Miwa et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,290,062, issued Sept. 15, 1981 to Marti et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,430,669, issued Feb. 7, 1984 to Cheung; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,506,387, issued Mar. 19, 1985 to Walter.
As the number of television stations in a metropolitan area or on a cable network has increased, a larger number of programs of potential interest to a viewer is presented. With the use of dish antennas capable of receiving direct satellite signals, the multitude of programs available to the viewer is further increased. At the present time, the user must consult a published program guide, such as TV Guide Magazine or program listings published in newspapers, in order to select programs for viewing. Particularly if the viewer is interested in a special category of program broadcast at irregular intervals, such as tennis tournaments, being aware of programs of special interest and selecting them for viewing is often difficult. Should the viewer find a program of interest which is broadcast at a time when the viewer will be unable to view the program, the user must then set a VCR or other recording device to record the program for viewing at a more convenient time. Often, a viewer will notice a program of special interest in the program listing, but forget to select the appropriate channel for viewing at the time of broadcast or set the VCR to record the program, or the length of the program for proper operation of the VCR to record the program. If there is more than one program to be recorded, it is easy to select programs with conflicting time schedules, with two or more programs overlapping each other. Conventionally published program listings are not capable of handling last minute schedule changes and additions. For these and other reasons, it would be advantageous if the viewer could select and view, or perform unattended recording of programs of interest in an easier and more dependable fashion.
Significant problems are encountered by users of VCRs as presently operated. Programming a VCR for unattended operation requires considerable skill and care. It is necessary to select the station, the day of the week, the time, including a.m. or p.m., and the length of the program for each program to be recorded. The process is even more complex if the user wishes to set the VCR for automatic recording of a program in the future at a given time while watching another program at the same time. Mary VCR owners are unable to master the complexities of setting the VCR for unattended operation, and simply do not use that feature of the equipment. Almost all users, at one time or another, have recorded the wrong program through an inadvertent incorrect setting of the VCR.
While a variety of systems incorporating VCRs and VCR control systems are known in the art, none deal with the complexity of setting a VCR for unattended recording. U.S. Pat. No. 4,523,295, issued June 11, 1985 to Zato discloses a VCR control system including a nonvolatile memory for storing user programmed system timing information in the event of a power outage. Other systems including VCRs are disclosed in the following issued U.S. Pat. Nos.: 4,272,791, issued June 9, 1981 to Rifken and U.S. Pat. No. 4,530,048, issued July 16, 1985 to Proper.
In most metropolitan areas, a large variety of cable programming is available. Since a cable channel will provide its signal on different numbered channels in different areas, depending on which channels are otherwise unused, programming for the cable channels is disseminated on a national or regional basis by the name of the channel, rather than the particular channel number on which the signal is supplied, while the television set must be tuned by the channel number. In the San Francisco metropolitan area, for example, there are presently 15 different cable channels that are listed by name, not channel number. A viewer will often not remember the channel number on which a given cable service is furnished, especially if that service is only watched occasionally. U.S. Pat. No. 4,405,946, issued Sept. 20, 1983 to Knight, discloses a system for providing an on-screen display of channel numbers or an indication that a signal is coming from a recording device, but with no teaching or suggestion of displaying a cable channel by name rather than number.
When satellite broadcasts are considered, the situation becomes even more complex. Satellite TV guides list all programs of satellites broadcast in the U.S. by the hour. Fifty or more programs may be listed under each hour or half hour heading. Depending on such factors as geographic location and equipment capability, many users will only be able to receive a small fraction of the listed programs. It would be desirable for a user to be able to reduce the number of such listings to be consulted in making a program selection. It would also be desirable for the viewer to be able to eliminate listings for encrypted programs for which the user is not a subscriber.